Verb
spent the time she should have been working gabbing with friends instead Noun (1)
a car salesman with the proverbial gift for gab
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Ahead of the audiobook’s May 7 release, and a promotional tour that Wilson admitted is poised to put their love of chat to the ultimate test, the authors spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about all things gab.—Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 Trump’s tendency to gab meant that minimizing his time on the witness stand was a no-brainer.—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2023 The series mimics the formula of most wellness podcasts—each episode features a topic such as skin care or sleep, and the hosts gab about various products—but the conversation takes sudden digressions, plumbing the ways in which a mind, addled by the industry, struggles to know peace.—Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2021 And right in the middle is Piano’s architectural intimation of what a museum is for: The entire building is organized around a soaring central courtyard with a smattering of cafe tables, where students and locals alike study, work, or gab happily in a cool wash of daylight pouring in from above.—Murray Whyte, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2022 On the show, Phil and his co-hosts gab in crisp accents about pawn sacrifices and variations on the Sicilian Defense with the rowdy bonhomie of lads closing down a pub.—Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 13 July 2022 But a backyard chat or gab through gridlock won’t offer the kind of help many individuals need.—Washington Post, 5 May 2022 Of course, there’s a lot more to gab about this week than inspirational sports stories, so read on.—Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2021
Noun
As Eden gabs, the pair inch across and climb over rows in search of maximum comfort and no moisture.—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024 Writers tend to have a gift for writing but not for gab.—Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 18 Jan. 2024 Throw in Howell-Baptiste’s very funny loquacious gab, Arterton’s enigmatic iciness, Elgar’s deliciously off-kilter viciousness and a believably raw turn from Abboud and there’s a good core here, one diminished by the strained logic as the series progresses.—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Dec. 2023 The world of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, the pulps Ellroy loved as a child, and his own private California are distilled into a gab, a grammar for brutality, shame, misogyny, and unresolved mourning.—Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023 The two gab away while Kris measures, shakes and spears the ingredients.—Sam Burros, Peoplemag, 26 June 2023 That’s when the two men with gifts for gab on top of gab began crossing paths.—Brent Zwerneman, ExpressNews.com, 22 Dec. 2020 Pop jams ranging from ABBA to Doja Cat play in the background as the quintet gabs gleefully about everything from Three’s Company to O’Hara’s adorable dachshund puppy, Princess Pink, who makes occasional appearances nearby.—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 7 June 2023 Just when their gab gets long-winded, the Kids strike bizarro gold by cutting to McDonald and Foley dressed as grotesque aliens gleefully celebrating the end of Earth’s fax-machine-defense system with a strike order.—Jill Krajewski, Vulture, 24 May 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gab.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
of uncertain origin
Note:
Perhaps continuing a divergent sense of Middle English gabben "to speak mockingly, scoff, tell lies" (borrowed from Anglo-French gaber "to mock, sneer at," ultimately from Old Norse gabba) if occurrences in Chaucer, perhaps meaning "to speak foolishly, talk nonsense," are the same verb. However, the scarcity of attestation between Chaucer and the 18th century, when gab appears in Scots, suggests that Modern English gab is a new onomatopoeic formation, akin to gabble.
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